By Council Member Richard Fimbres
Our community has many “Guardian Angels,” and recently I had the privilege of honoring an individual.
On July 8 I had the privilege of recognizing Linda Leatherman, a person who has given so much to our community.
Linda served as the Southern Arizona District Director for then Congressman Ed Pastor for 11 years, helping Veterans and constituents get the services and programs they needed.
Linda has also worked as a teacher and worked for Project PPEP.
Creating relationships
For the past 18 years, She has served our community, as Pima County’s first, Faith Based Coordinator, for which Linda is retiring as the coordinator.
Leatherman said her biggest achievement was creating relationships and an ongoing dialogue that didn’t formally exist between the religious communities and government.
“We encouraged the faith community to have faith in the government,” Leatherman said. “I think that was one of our main goals – to make them comfortable calling government offices and elected officials and accessing the resources that are available to them.”
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Center
Leatherman’s many projects and programs are too numerous to count, but among them:
Creation of the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Center. Since the program was entirely online, she developed the training resources and arranged for computers to be placed in the homes of the participants who needed computer training.
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Later, the program became adept at advocating for legislation and eventually pushed several bills into law at the Arizona Legislature to assist grandparents who were raising grandkids. The program has been so successful it has a permanent office at the Arizona Capitol.
Arrangement, through a federal grant, for computer labs to be placed in 26 churches and religious centers so that people could look for employment or receive job training closer to home.
Support of Pima County
Support of Pima County’s participation in Hope Fest, a community-services event that brought together faith communities, service groups and health-care providers for a once-a-year resource fair that was best known for its free dental services. The County’s support expanded the event’s capacity to provide services to the community.
We encouraged the faith community to have faith in the government
Playing a key role during the pandemic in getting personal protective equipment, including masks and hand sanitizer, to 239 places of worship in Pima County. Also, she also helped the Pima County Health Department use dozens of faith communities as COVID-19 testing sites and, eventually, as vaccination sites.
Guardian Angel
Linda Leatherman worked with me and my Ward 5 staff on spay/neuter clinics for more than 1,800 pets for owners who couldn’t afford the process. First, she helped me and my staff set up dog vaccination clinics as well. With the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Linda Leatherman played a significant role in the success of the LULAC Educator’s Banquet and the Youth Leadership Conference, which has had more than 120,000 students attend the Conference in its 30-year existence.
Working with Linda and the faith-based community in Ward 5, we were able to get COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics in the 85706, 85713 and 85714 zip code areas which had the most positive tests and COVID-19 cases.
As I have said: “It may be hot but you need to get your Shot!”
One story that shows Linda’s big heart, when a veteran had to go into the hospital for an extended period of time, she fostered the veteran’s dog until he could come back to his home.
Thanks Linda!
She is one of Tucson and Pima County’s Guardian Angel and she worked to make sure everyone’s voice was heard, including the ballot box to get South side residents to vote.
Remember, your “Voice is Your Vote,” so for those who have gotten their ballots for the August 3 Tucson City Primary Election and haven’t returned them, please do so. Now is not the time to be silent, use your voice and vote.
I want to thank Linda for her service making our community a better place to live, work and raise a family. I look forward to working with Linda in the next chapter of her life.
